| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 7A/05 |
| Hearing date | 7 Jun 2005 - 9 Jun 2005 (3 days) |
| Determination date | 14 September 2005 |
| Member | H Doyle |
| Representation | J Goldstein ; I Thompson |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | Hauraki v Te Awa o Te Ora Trust |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - Suspension - Applicant placed on garden leave - No contractual entitlement to suspend - No opportunity for applicant to be heard - Unjustified disadvantage - UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Serious misconduct - Summary dismissal - Seven grounds relied on could not justify dismissal - Applicant not warned of consequences of not providing team building strategies or attending supervision - Respondent signed off applicant's report in which she said she would not write certain letter, so respondent could not rely on failure to write letter - Asking respondent to send particular letter to applicant's lawyer could not be seen as failure to follow instruction - Applicant paid some employees' wages from own money because no co-signed cheques available - Open for respondent to disapprove of payment in this manner but not type of misconduct justifying summary dismissal - Insufficient investigation into whether applicant had asked consumer of respondent's services to uplift applicant's property - No procedural fairness - Unjustified dismissal - Remedies - Contributory conduct in respect of sending administrator away when she asked for cheque books - BREACH OF CONTRACT - Employment agreement provided that employer would allow employee reasonable opportunity to respond to allegations of serious misconduct - No opportunity given - No separate remedy for this breach - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - Alleged breach of interim reinstatement order - Alleged constructive dismissal - Applicant resigned after two hours on first day of interim reinstatement - Alleged failure to provide applicant with pre-dismissal duties - Authority not satisfied arrangements unreasonable - No breach of Authority's order or constructive dismissal - Applicant not entitled to reimbursement of lost wages from date of resignation - Manager |
| Result | Application dismissed (breach of Authority's order) ; Applications granted (personal grievances and breach of contract); Reimbursement of lost wages ($6,923.07 reduced to $6,230.77)(8 weeks) ; Compensation for humiliation etc (unjustified dismissal)($10,000 reduced to $9,000) ; (unjustified disadvantage)($2,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s103A |
| Number of Pages | 13 |
| PDF File Link: | ca 7a_05.pdf [pdf 55 KB] |